8. Describe an object in the room without mentioning it by name.

It sits across from my desk and makes me smile whenever I see it. Partly because of what it is and partly because of  the people it reminds me of:  my dad, my daughter, the little girl I once was, and teenaged me who devoured its pages at Grandmother's house on a yearly basis.

The top is black with large letters.  Although its words sound as if it provides instruction for ending a life, the words contained within speak to the dignity of life for all.  Its simplistic artwork reminds me of the trees I climbed as a girl; the ones that often cause me to wonder how a tree-climbing, book-loving girl wound up in a job that either uses technology to teach or requires me to sit at a desk.

The words on the lower part speak to a mystery.  A gifted writer who shared one story and was a friend to another literary mystery.  In some ways, a typical southern woman, but also a heroine to many.  A lover of privacy whose quiet life has raised more questions that it has answered.  Is she Scout?  Is she more of a Boo Radley?  Is she the mockingbird and has he own privacy been violated?
A gift in many ways.  The contents of its pages were a gift to a middle child who sought fairness and saw herself in its primary character.  The man of the book provided a way describe my own father to others.  The item itself was a gift from the one who made me a mom and reminds me of our shared love of books and words and fairness.